Under Red Eyes
by Kariko Emma
Summary: Morino Ibiki tells a yarn of a precarious ANBU with mis-matched eyes.


**Author's Note:** I adore Morino Ibiki. I really do. This was always something I wanted to do with him, that is, let him tell a tale just like Marlow, in one of Conrad's books. Safe to say, I read a lot of Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness to write this, and faithfully kept Ray Bradbury in mind (Lafayette, Farewell). So, I hope I did all the after-mentioned some justice. (Also...I realize Kakashi obviously had prior commands, but here I'm talking in an ANBU sense.) I was pretty happy with the way it turned out…the hardest part was giving it a title.  
(-I would be grateful if any of you mention you like this enough to let it continue...that is let good old Morino Ibiki here tell some more stories.** : )  
Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, but I do own any OCs that are in here, muwahaha.  
**Genre:** General

Where All Is Emptiness  
There Is Room To Move.  
-Ray Bradbury

God be between you and harm in all the empty places where you must walk.  
-An Egyptian Blessing

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**_Under Red Eyes_**

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There was no immediate danger.

We had just set up our camp when our commander up-rooted himself from his position and gathered us round by the fire. His analytical wit was nothing short of legendary as he'd been in authoritative positions when he was younger than we were now. The man Morino had such a strong-willed disposition, it was the sole binding of our comitatus that night, one which not even the mournful winds could penetrate. The glow of the crackling fire defined his rugged features, revealing scars across his face and the permanent blisters that marked his hands. I had heard from someone he had moved to the interrogation unit, but neither he nor his form were willing to confirm that.

"Yes," he would say, for he was very direct with us. "Yes I was there at the stand of Puatasan," he said as if that answered our question. "…In the same way as a man sent in to pick up shards of broken glass afterwards—It leaves me to conclude there are darker places than this," he added.

A shinobi next to me lit a cigarette, but looked on with as much interest and expectancy as a young child waiting to hear a bedtime story. Sarutobi Asuma had been the first one to inquire after the matter, and it was suddenly obliging for our otherwise silent captain to enlighten us. We four stared on on a man who possessed a massively wider scope of the world than our own.

"Mind," he waved in an apathetic sense. "Mind you, while the location of that…incident could not have occurred anywhere but Kiri, the fellow I came to know would have commanded that mission into the fires of hell rather than the 'mists of madness' as we affectionately referred later."

Morino bore an ironic smile to this and scanned each of us with those dark, probing eyes of his.

Within a turn of the moment, we felt uneasy.

Quite suddenly, our combined expectations became obsequious, and as I tried restoring my gaze, the man Morino leaned back, perhaps remembering all those 'fond' memories of conquest's past under, at present, fire-country stars. "I won't bother you with personal details," he said. "But I was seventeen, and it was my first command—and you may be surprised he was of the same age and circumstance. Of course you all know him now as our ever-elusive 'copy ninja'. But I knew him as Kakashi. Which brings me to…Any of you knew a man named Rion?"

To this, beside me, Asuma inclined his head.

"Mm—then you will know I am not joking when I say he was the sharpest man I ever worked with," he nodded. "God rest his soul now.

"I learned a lot from him in my heyday when he was still young himself. I remember he was at least six foot with an amoral, amused stare that made you wonder if you did something wrong. However, his air of rugged intimidation was not part of the tactics he employed—but I learned from it nonetheless—nor did it play any part of…the incident. Quite simply, he was a concerned merchant, foremost, and commissioned our…assignment.

"As I said, it was my first command, probably attributing to the early, short-lived fame in my reputation. My team and myself were still mourning the loss of our captain when I was sent the news of Rion's requests. Naturally, my first instinct was to leave it to another team, and no one would have held it against me, but being close to my captain, Rommel, who knew and first introduced me to him, I felt I could not turn the man down.

"So, the four of us set out. And mind you, Kakashi was not with us, as it may have been later reported. We had been enmeshed in the thicket of Kusa all that time, so to pass through Konoha on the way to Kiri was refreshing, to say the least. Our mission—our mission was to head straight for the western-most island just off the mainland by boat and converge upon the 'rogue' band of Kiri ninja in Kimara who'd been attacking civilian targets. I say 'rogue' dubiously because at the time, there was a high-level suspicion it was under the Mizukage's order…which was a shocking thing that I'm probably not supposed to talk about."

He smiled.

"And because it was a civilian who commissioned us, we were able to engage the ninja, and take the mission in the first place. It was important in the same way ripples of water circle out from an object—the mission would give Konoha ample reason to denounce the…'village of the bloody mist.'

"The western island…the western island…What was it's name…Ah yes, Lire. It had suffered a recent attack of activity; Rion didn't give us the numbers for when we arrived there, it was evident. Either the villagers were hiding, or they were dead.

"We arrived by way of a small schooner that was Rion's, to a remote port off the town of Tsuan in total secrecy. From there we were to trek half a day's journey to the other side of the island to Kimara. We were instantly met, though, by one of Rion's men who told us there was an ANBU team from Konoha only half-a mile from here, presumably doing covert operations. How he came by that information, I leave only to the nature of Rion's sheer genius in the darker arts of intelligence.

"We set off at once. And suffice to say, until we got there, we saw no one. Not even any birds or animals. It was as if the mist itself had killed them off. It infuriated me. And, again, safe to say, strengthened our resolve to oust those…demons.

"However, when we got there, Kirin-Kiran—one of those, it was then we saw the remnants of a, later as we understood it, 'purged village'. Even through their fear, they were relieved to see us. Rion—God rest his soul, made quite an honest impression—not to mention _profession_ around those parts. Immediately, a young woman directed us to a house that held the ANBU shinobi. I suppose I did expect to see a full team assembled talking about formations or some such, but as we came inside, there were only two—one lying silent on a cot; the other sitting on the floor, nursing a bloodied arm. It was then, I suppose, I wondered what in blazes I got myself into.

"'Sir,' the one had said to me," said our commander after a silence that saw the last dying flames of our fire. The moon was high and bright. None of us made a sound. "In such a relief I realized then and there the terror's of a captain's position and role. 'Yes,' I asked, or rather stated. He looked on in urgency and nodded to his companion. 'You must hear him out…' he said quietly.

"I ordered my team, the three of them, outside. The command—my first command—seemed to pervade to our guide, who was probably too distressed to hear out anything else, anyway. The man tugged on his companion's arm with an unbruised hand and whispered, 'Senpai.'

"If you'll indulge me, as I came closer, I was surprised to see Kakashi in such standing. Moments later, he came to and bolted up-right on his own with as much disregard as ignoring the weather on a sunny day. The man also left the room, and naturally, I first asked, 'Where is your commanding officer?'

"'He died…I was left in command,' he looked up with a lone, black, sullen stare. That was what I could read barring that mask of his. 'Sir, there is something you must know.' And if the mist and fog in Kiri could have taken on physical weight at that moment, it would have crushed us with out hesitation.

"It may surprise you to know that at the time, and even to this day, that man has seen more battles than I have asked questions…which may say something…" he alluded, but waved the thought aside, suppressing a smile.

"Hatake Kakashi had not quite the height of Rion, but as much intellect; without the indignant stare. In fact, as you know, his stare is what makes him interesting. His right eye—an immense darkness—and the left harboring an Uchiha's Sharingan. Red. Blood red.

"I will not attempt to convey the circumstances of that precarious pair of eyes, but I will say the Uchiha themselves didn't begrudge him anything. He was looked on with as much contempt as a weed among their garden. Kakashi was as singular a cell as any man in a gaping void. But he learned to survive there as any man to the dashed can do—Remarkable perseverance, even though he would disregard it to you as ordinary. That man would climb out of hell for you and call it nothing," Morino smiled. "I've only know two men like that, and as you heard, Captain Rommel is dead—God rest his soul."

"How did he die…?" There was someone other than myself still awake. The deep yet young and solemn voice was Asuma's; he lit another cigarette.

Once again, our captain commander looked up to the stars of Konoha, showing no opposition to the question, only a respect in the recollection, as all it deserved. "A raid party in Kusa discovered us. He fended them off until the four of us got away," Morino smiled back at us. "Had a grin on his face as it'd all been a joke. Best man I ever served under. Proud to do it," he nodded. "I got the bastards back three weeks after Puatasan…which is tale for another time—and for the proper accompaniment of a good gin." he added.

"Kakashi…" thought our commander to re-immerse himself in Kiri. "Kakashi was calm about it, considering he'd just escaped the holds of being captive by Kiri nin—to which I learned after he told me what he did.

"'They know about your plans,' he said. 'It was the last thing my captain said…there is no mistaking it.' I was dead as the grave silent upon hearing this. 'Sir…they plan to have a few men in place to ambush you before you get to Kimara. They're waiting in a town called Puatasan.'"

Suddenly, he smiled.

"I listened in strain as if a golden scepter pierced any sense of our redemption," he said. "It was a hard thing to take, suffice to say. _Gott im Himmel!_ as Captain Rommel would say. 'All right,' I nodded. 'What would you propose?'

"At first, he was silent. Then, slowly, he looked up once again with that dark, lone stare of his. Kakashi asked me to send him on alone.

"Suffice to say, I couldn't do that. It was bad enough we had more ninja to deal with, but to do that was a suicide mission. 'No,' I said. 'I can't do that.' However, he was bound to persuade me: 'Sir, with all due respect, I'm probably the fastest one among you. It makes sense if—'

"'No—you won't go it alone,' I reiterated. 'I don't know what you ANBU were doing out here, and I'm sure you owe it to your commanding officer, but the success of my mission depends upon—'

"He cut me off dumb like a fox. 'You getting to Kimara. I believe the people need you there more than you need a time-consuming distraction.'

"'It's suicide,' I said to him plainly. And you know what that bastard fellow did? He shrugged! Shrugged in the face—the prospect of an unhappy end. I suppose I didn't know whether to cry or laugh at the masked face of a man who didn't care in the slightest what the world did to him. What is that phrase you use…oh yes, 'I feared the world would betray me, so I betrayed the world!' Somehow I don't think betrayal was involved, but the feeling was the same. I had to know that for a man under red eyes, he was probably hardened to a point of no entrance—which is why you'll hear this tale from no one but me."

Morino sat at length for a moment until he said, very respectfully, as if to quote, "The conquest of love…honor—a man's confidence…all of which mark a heroic tale; though none of which were present at Puatasan. There was nothing set up; it was not pre-determined…it was a battle fought in the dark—or mist, to be factual—by quiet men who were only doing their duty…and ready to die, if need be. 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,' said no one in particular at that moment.

"I was able to convince Kakashi to take his companion—Masuda with him. Masuda, who agreed without hesitation, was sorry to hear—as I learned later—that his new senpai dared leave him out of the fun, 'cheap bastard.'"

He smiled fondly.

"We set out together for about another half-mile until we parted ways. And that little runt said, with no doubt I was sure a smile under his mask, 'We'll see you on the other side, sir.'

"I smiled just to be civil, and we bid 'see you laters' as 'goodbyes' seemed too final for that bloody, misty air. Not that I harbor much resent, but in those days at a time like that, it may as well have been God-forsaken and part of an immense pocket of darkness. Metaphorical, metaphysical, literal, any which way you'd care to analyze it.

"I suppose you know the rest. My squad of four, myself included, put down two squads of Kiri nin in Kimara which was more famous than what happened back in Puatasan at the time. It was to the local's salvation, and on a grander scale, put hope to a lot more of Kiri, I suspect.

"And Puatasan…" he grinned. "And in Puatasan, six Kiri nin went down quietly by the likes of two men. Both survived…only Masuda died some years later in Iwa.

"How they did it, I don't know. I really don't…And if that answer upsets you, I apologize. Even though I circled your…'copy ninja' with several hinting questions over the course of several years, all he did was laugh soberly as if it was the grandest joke he'd ever heard."

All of us sat at length for a while, needless to say. I can't speak for the others, but I knew I had something in my eye. We were silent until I finally stammered, "I-Is that what it means to be a shinobi?"

"No," he chuckled. "No…but it is one way to deal with it. And perhaps…maybe he's still giddy about the whole thing; who's to say," he said. "Later…" he waved in an apathetic sense. "Later the Mizukage denounced their actions, but the killings continued anyway, which led us to that aforementioned conclusion," Morino smiled. "Needless to say, whenever Kakashi or myself came back to Kiri, they'd been given orders to kill us on site which, obviously, they never could. _Fiat justitia, ruat coelum,_ as Captain Rommel would say—Let justice be done, though the heavens fall."

As I looked up to the heavens he spoke of, I saw the remnants of an impenetrable darkness giving way to the dawn. Someone said it was sunrise, but we didn't hear save for the mournful wind that was blowing gently over all the empty places we were to walk.

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_-Caliko_


End file.
